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Author Notes:I've been a bit obsessed with drinking vinegar since a recent dinner outing to Ping, one of chef Andy Ricker's local restaurants. At Ping you can get a wide variety of Asian-style drinking vinegars mixed with seltzer, as well as incorporated into cocktails. They make a delightfully tart soda - with the tang of the vinegar hitting you first, and the fruit finishing on the palate. For this version I used fresh raspberries with a little lemongrass to complement the berry flavor. I've also made strawberry (yum), watermelon-lychee (meh), and cherry-ginger (yum.) There is a lot of room for experimentation, so don't be afraid to give it a go! - hardlikearmour —hardlikearmour

Food52 Review: Hardlikearmour’s Raspberry Shrub intrigued me. Admittedly, my palate tends toward the sour and tangy. Luckily, I found coconut vinegar easily. By far, the hardest part about making this is waiting. Finally, three days later, as my shrub cooked down, I tasted just a bit, as hardlikearmour suggests, and ended up adding an extra ¼-cup of sugar. Topped with sparkling water, the shrub is refreshing and full of tart raspberry flavor and aroma. The tang from the vinegar pops on your palate in a delightful, can’t-wait-to-take-another-sip kind of way. Raspberries are the perfect match for this kind of vinegar cordial. Not only does this taste good, but also you feel good drinking it. I look forward to experimenting and enjoying this lovely drinking vinegar. Thanks hardlikearmour for a wonderfully inspired recipe! - gingerroot —gingerroot

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Makes about 3 cups

24 to 30
ounces fresh or frozen organic raspberries

2
stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced (optional)

750
milliliters coconut vinegar (5% acidity)*

1/2
cup sugar, plus additional to taste

Place raspberries, lemongrass, and vinegar into a non-reactive container that can be tightly sealed. (I don't wash the raspberries because they are so fragile, and I don't want to lose any of their juice. If you need to you may gently rinse them.)

Seal the container and allow to rest at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, stirring once to twice daily. The berries will basically disintegrate within a day or so.

Transfer vinegar and berries to a non-reactive saucepan. Stir in 1/2 cup sugar. Bring to a boil over med-high heat, then reduce heat to low. Simmer as gently as possible, uncovered for one hour, stirring on occasion. (Note: boiling vinegar is quite pungent, make sure you have good ventilation!)

Strain a tablespoon or two of the mixture into a glass, and allow it to cool. Add seltzer water, then taste. Add sugar if desired (I ended up adding another 1/4 cup of sugar.) Once it is the desired sweetness, remove from heat and allow to cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain the entire mixture through a mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing as much of the liquid out of the fruit pulp as possible. Strain the collected liquid through a mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth into a quart-sized pitcher or glass measure. Transfer to a bottle, cool to room temperature, seal, and store in the fridge. Use as you see fit!

* Look for coconut vinegar at Asian groceries. It is a translucent white color, and has a mild flavor making it a perfect vehicle for your fruit to shine!

I can't believe it, either ;-) ! I've made a few batches this summer - peach-cardamom and strawberry-lavender have been my favorite this year. Still need to make another batch of plum-star anise which may be my all-time fav!

I'm glad to see more and more people becoming interested in shrubs. I am a late convert myself, only having it for the first time last year. Since then I've become hooked and really interested in different drinking vinegars.

I am really happy to see more and more people becoming interested in drinking vinegar. I'm kind of a bit of a late convert myself, only trying it for the first time last year. Since then, I've been hooked.

If anyone is interested in seeing recipes for other DIY shrubs, check out http://bringmeashrub.blogspot... for some rather unconventional flavored drinking vinegars and more.

I confess I'd never heard of shrubs until about a month ago here on Food52, and you've peaked my interest greatly with this one since I've been experimenting with all the forms of coconut this year. This looks just wonderful, and I'll be making it this week for sure!!!

I hope you get a chance to make some! My husband and I really like them, my sister and brother not so much (sister wants to add more sugar, and brother thinks its too vinegary!) You can pretty much play with any fruit or combo you'd like, though I suppose banana might be disgusting. I'm thinking of trying kiwi next.

Kiwi would be interesting to try. It's already tart, so the balance will be important - I love the idea. I tried to do a slushy kiwi drink for this week's contest. Disaster. So I would love to see what you come up with!

I'll let you know when I try it... you add sugar to taste at the end, so it should be okay for the balance. I like it nice and tart personally, but there's a lot of room for individual taste with this stuff.

I don't have coconut vinegar but was dying to taste this, so I made up half a batch with my Pommery raspberry vinegar. I'm sure the coconut is better, but this was fabulous! I could drink vinegar every day... Paired with San Pellegrino it felt like a cocktail. Thanks for a total winner!